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Annual Report 2005 chechnya justice project ANNUAL REPORT 2005 Stichting Russian Justice Initiative Правовая Инициатива MOSCOW NAZRAN UTRECHT Chechnya Justice Project Annual Report 2005 Stichting Russian Justice Initiative Правовая Инициатива Moscow Nazran Utrecht ANNUAL REPORT 2005 CHecHNYA JUSTIce Project The Chechnya Justice Project (the Project) is a groundbreaking initiative that utilizes domestic and international legal mechanisms to seek redress for human rights abuses committed in Chechnya. Through its implementing partners the Stichting Russian Justice Initiative (the Netherlands) and Pravovaia Initsiativa (Ingushetia), the Project provides free legal counsel to victims of arbitrary detention, enforced disap- pearances and extrajudicial executions and bring these cases to the European Court of Human Rights in Strasbourg, France (the European Court, the Court or ECHR). From its earliest days, the second armed conflict in Chechnya (1999-present) has been marked by large-scale grave abuses of human rights, including torture, disappearances, and extrajudicial execution. The Russian government’s per- sistent lack of will to guarantee the rule of law and investigate human rights abuses, regardless of the suspected perpetrator’s affiliation, has perpetuated a cycle of violence in the region. The Chechnya Justice Project emerged from a series of small litigation activities begun in 2000 as a response to the problem of impunity in Chech- nya. Initially, members and volunteers of the Moscow office of Human Rights Watch put victims in contact with experienced European lawyers, who, in turn, prepared applications to the European Court on the victims’ behalf. By mid- 2001, as a growing number of victims requested representation, these ad-hoc efforts were no longer sufficient to meet demand. Thus, in late 2001, a group of human rights activists founded the Stichting Chechnya Justice Initiative in the Netherlands, with an office in Moscow, and a local organization in Ingush- etia now known as Pravovaia Initsiativa, to jointly implement the Chechnya Justice Project. Since that time, the Project has steadily increased the number of victims it represents. In December 2004, the organization the Stichting Chechnya Justice Initiative was renamed the Stichting Russian Justice Initia- tive. Today, the Chechnya Justice Project has established itself as one of the lead- ing legal representation and litigation projects in Russia. As grave human rights abuses continue, and the climate of impunity persists, the work of the Project remains wholly relevant and crucial in its contribution to ending violence and opening the way for lasting peace in the North Caucasus. ANNUAL REPORT 2005 ContentS Executive Summary 4 Chechnya in 2005 7 Litigating Cases 10 Project methodology 10 Procedure at the European Court of Human Rights 10 The Project’s cases 11 Caseload 12 Milestones at the European Court of Human Rights in 2005 1 Legal clinic 15 Building Capacity 17 Advocating Change 20 Evaluating Impact 22 Project Plan for 2006 24 Staff, Board and Committees 26 Finances and Supporters 28 Acknowledgements 0 Appendix: Cases before the European Court of Human Rights 1 4 ANNUAL REPORT 2005 EXecutIVE SummarY Representing more than 800 victims and their family members in 115 cases, 95 of them currently pending before the European Court of Human Rights, the Chechnya Justice Project has established itself as the leading organization conducting human rights litigation on cases from Chechnya. According to the Court, almost half of the applications received by the Court regarding grave human rights abuse in Chechnya have been submitted by the Project’s lawyers. Litigating Cases In 2005, the Project again exceeded all expectations for its litigation work. Through improved efficiency and new project targets, the Project opened 21 new cases and submitted 6 full applications to the Court. Several of the Project’s cases already before the European Court made demonstrable progress in 2005. During the year, 18 of the Project’s cases were communicated to the Russian government and seven were declared admissible. Milestones at the European Court of Human Rights In December the European Court, for the first time, conducted an oral hearing in one of the Project’s cases. The case, Bazorkina v. Russia, concerns the disap- pearance of Khadzhimurat Yandiev, who was detained by Russian federal forces at a hospital in Alkhan-Kala, near Grozny, in February 2000. The case is the first disappearance case from Chechnya to be heard by the Court and will set important precedent for future cases. The first decision in one of the Project’s cases is expected during the first six months of 2006. This year the European Court handed down decisions in the first cases con- cerning Chechnya before the Court. In all cases, the Court found the Russian Government responsible for the death of the applicants’ relatives and awarded compensation. Building capacity The Project devoted increased resources to developing partnerships with local legal professionals in the communities where it works. Building on many years of experience and substantial expertise in the field of ECHR litigation in Rus- sia, the Project’s staff worked to enhance the knowledge and skills of Russian lawyers in the fields of Russian law, European law, international law, and the 5 ANNUAL REPORT 2005 European Court of Human Rights. In addition, the release of several publica- tions and the development of an online resource center in 2005 will serve as important tools for building greater local capacity to seek and receive justice. Advocating change The Project strives to foster nuanced and informed discussions about the hu- man rights situation in the North Caucasus. Working alone and in coalitions with like-minded NGOs and activists, the Project advocated for an end to impunity for grave human rights abuses in Chechnya, the full implementation of ECHR decisions, and the establishment of better protection mechanisms in the North Caucasus. Impact Although no decisions have yet been issued by the European Court in cases filed by the Project, the impact of the Project’s work is already evident in some offices of the Chechnaya justice system. In cases in which the Project has filed applications with the Court, closed investigations have been re-opened and local courts are beginning to recognize cases of prosecutorial negligence. The Project is working with advocacy partners to ensure the swift and effective implementation of ECHR decisions by the Russian government once they are handed down. Awards and recognition The Project received substantial recognition of its work in the area of human rights during 2005. The Project’s Ingushetia director, Arsen Sakalov, received the Swedish Per Anger Prize for his efforts to promote democracy and hu- man rights. Mr. Sakalov was nominated for the prize by the Swedish Helsinki Committee, one of the Project’s partners. The Per Anger prize follows the award of the prestigious Human Rights Prize of the French Republic to the Chechnya Justice Project in 2004. 6 ANNUAL REPORT 2005 PHOTO: AP PHOTO / MUSA SaDULAYEV 7 ANNUAL REPORT 2005 CHecHNYA IN 2005 The human rights situation in Chechnya remained dire in 2005. Although large sweep operations (in Russian, zachistka) characteristic of Russian federal forces in previous years were less frequent, arbitrary detentions at the hands of Russian and Chechen security services remained common. Abductions most often occurred during night raids on targeted Chechen homes and were usually followed by enforced disap- pearance, torture, or ill treatment. The Russian and Chechen security services respon- sible for the majority of these crimes continue to enjoy almost complete impunity. The human rights situation According to the Human Rights Centre “Memorial,” which conducts moni- toring in approximately one-third of the republic, between ,000 and 5,000 people have disappeared since the beginning of the Second Chechen War in 1999. In 2005, at least 16 people were kidnapped. Of those kidnapped, 127 disappeared. According to Human Rights Watch, disappearances in Chechnya are so widespread and systematic that they constitute crimes against humanity. While enforced disappearances were widely committed by Russian federal forces during the early stages of the second war, there are credible reports that more civilians now disappear at the hands of pro-Moscow Chechen security forces. Particularly notorious for its violent and illegal methods are the so- called Kadyrovtsy, an unofficial paramilitary group originating in the private bodyguard structures of the former president of Chechnya, Akhmad Kadyrov, and commanded by his son, Prime Minister of Chechnya, Ramzan Kadyrov. Another pro-Moscow group, the so-called Yamadavtsy, after the com- mander of the Vostok battalion, Suleiman Yamadaev, was responsible for the sweep operation in the village Borozdinovskaya in June 2005, during which several houses were burned and 11 people disappeared. After the operation, the inhabitants of Borozdinovskaya fled Chechnya and attempted to settle just across the border in Dagestan. Under pressure from the authorities the villagers returned home. In spite of overwhelming evidence that the Yamadavtsy conducted the opera- tion, the 11 disappeared men were not found and no one was held accountable for their disappearance or the destruction of the village. Terrorism and other attacks continued throughout the Northern Caucasus region in 2005. In October, armed insurgents attacked police stations, the air- 8 ANNUAL REPORT
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